Sixers notes: Wayns looking to prove himself

PHILADELPHIA — The summer months took Maalik Wayns from Philly to Orlando to Las Vegas.

Wayns went unpicked after declaring his eligibility for the NBA draft, so he committed to improving. And disproving the notion that he left Villanova a year prematurely.

“I heard it all summer. I’m still hearing it now,” Wayns said. “The season is here now, so I guess we’re really going to see if I made a bad choice or not.”

Advertisement

The 76ers rolled out a few new faces Monday, for media day at their practice facility. Wayns was one of them.

The 6-1, 195-pound guard — a Philly guy whose roots go to Roman Catholic High prior to his ’Nova days — is here on a two-year partial-guarantee contract. That means Wayns could be sent packing at any time with only $60,000 coming out of the Sixers’ coffers.

Even at the early going, with training camp kicking off today, it doesn’t sound like Wayns is going anywhere.

“Lot to learn, but he’s tough,” said Jrue Holiday. “When you think of Philly point guards, even Jameer (Nelson), he’s a tough point guard who gets the job done.”

The Sixers aren’t expecting Wayns to be the scorer he was at Villanova, where he averaged 12.5 points per game in three seasons under Jay Wright.

“It’s a great situation for me and I look forward to it,” Wayns said.

Buried at the bottom of the press release that announced Andrew Bynum’s delayed start to the season was a note that the Sixers had signed 7-foot free-agent center Mikki Moore.

The move pushed the training-camp roster to 18 and gave the Sixers five guys who are 6-10 or taller.

One of them is Kwame Brown, the top pick of the 2001 draft who’s largely considered a bust. Brown, drafted by the Wizards when current Sixers coach Doug Collins was Washington’s coach, owns career per-game averages of 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Brown said he doesn’t worry about detractors, though.

“That’s for other people to judge,” Brown said. “Even the No. 1 pick question, that’s for other people to judge. I’m doing what I love to do. This is a dream of mine, I achieved my dream and I continue to do it.”